Understanding
by WatchMeSoar
Summary: Short snippets of the emotions experiencing feelings that are not theirs. Joy has felt sadness. The others can feel different, too.
1. Chapter 1

**Sadness**

It was no secret that Riley hated being called a chicken. But really, who didn't? To be considered as such brings ridicule and all-around bad attention, and nobody ever wants that. Not to mention, being afraid all the time meant missing out on a lot of potentially really _cool_ and _fun_ things! Things that Disgust and Joy would much of the time urge Riley into.

But Fear had always been there. Not in a way that was intended to make Riley bored, or sad, but just to remind her that _it's better to be safe than sorry…_

Fear was resilient in his standing on most situations he got them all out of, whether they were obvious dangers or simply precautions. Keeping Riley—all of them—safe was his concern, his _purpose_.

But, when the danger had passed and he would look back to the others, he would feel his insides fall and his eyes find the ground. Because _he_ was the reason Riley was unhappy, _he_ was the reason her peers, her friends, mocked her…

For being a chicken.

Fear didn't like being afraid all of the time, either. But he knew better than anyone how important it was to be cautious. And he would spend hours of time alone, on Dream Duty or just lying awake at night, convincing himself that he was doing the right thing by all of them even as silent tears ran down his cheeks.

III

Rainbows were supposed to be happy.

Joy had always loved rainbows, had always admired them through Riley's wide eyes. She would count the colors and sometimes try to find the end, smile up at them in thanks to the promises they held.

They were not the same anymore. Now, they held memories of sweet smiles and kind eyes, and a whisper of _take her to the moon for me…_

Joy would always cry when she saw a rainbow, nowadays. Sadness understood, because while she hadn't been there, the absence of their third party on the last leg of their quest must have been glaringly obvious to her. She didn't yet know what had happened, but something had definitely gone wrong. Joy was't ready to talk, wouldn't be for a while, but Sadness was always _there_.

The first time they found Riley outside after a rainstorm, Sadness had offered to drive, while the others looked on, uneasy and uncomprehending. But Joy refused. She took control of the console with an enthusiasm she had never known before. Riley thought this rainbow was absolutely _beautiful…_

 _Take her to the moon for me…_

Joy would be damned if she let either of them down now.

III

Disgust had never felt so _useless!_ there was never a reason for her to make control to the extent that Joy did. She couldn't make Riley laugh or skip or smile.

 _Joy would know what to do._

She wasn't an optimist, either. Disgust was fully aware of all of the things that could go wrong for Riley without the upbeat emotion guiding her actions. She could make enemies, fall in with the wrong crowd, learn to _hate_ …

 _Joy would know what to do_.

They put in a valiant effort, her and Anger and Fear. But they couldn't compete. They could only make it worse, dig Riley an even deeper hole to fall into.

 _Joy would know what to do._

 _I'm not Joy._

III

Anger only ever really wanted one thing, and that was for Riley to be treated fairly. People were so fickle, so self absorbed, and the only one that was ever really, truly watching out for her was herself (with their ever vigilant help, of course).

But then, things fell apart. Everything was off balance and Riley was suffering, and there was nothing he could do about it…

Because it was _their fault._

Her main emotion was gone. Her personality was in shambles and the girl was falling apart at the seams because she couldn't figure out something that she would never understand.

 _It isn't your fault, kid._

And then the _idea_. _The_ idea. That had been _his_ idea. It fell in with his way of doing things. He would have reacted the same on any other day, too. But any other day, Joy would have been there to make the situation better, to convince him that they didn't have to run from it, they could fix it..

But no. This time was all him. Poor Riley barely made it off of that bus in time as it was, and all of the turmoil she went through before that…

That was't fair to her. Not at all.

 _I'm sorry, kid. I failed you._

 **A/n: Well, this chapter was sad. Duh. They won't all be like this, obviously, but I felt sadness was such an important part of the story and really, it was generally pretty easy to write this one. Hope you like:) I should be able to update this pretty quickly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Joy**

Sadness had never really regretted being sad all the time. How could she? It was _her_. She couldn't tell you that she had always known her worth, and she couldn't deny being a little extra sad every time she was pushed aside, but then, that's how things always had been. And it was sad, but that was okay.

And then Joy had let her drive. She had seen what all of them had missed, and maybe even helped Riley mature a little in the act of maturing _themselves_ …

So, when she receives a 'good job,' or a pat on the back of one of Joy's genuine smiles directed at _her_ …

Well, she thinks that maybe she can learn to like smiling, too.

III

Dream Duty was always a bit of a drag. Fear found that all of them, even Joy, would make remarks every now and then about how Dream Production was running out of ideas. And, sure, nightmares would really get to him, but it takes a lot out of a person, being scared, and darn it all, he just wanted to sleep when the end of the day came.

But, it was a duty that they all had to share, and it was his turn, so he dared not complain to anyone but himself. He could sit through the night.

But then, in the middle of watching a rerun about some dancing unicorn, his night got much better.

The noise behind him startled him at first, but the shock melted into plain confusion when he spotted Disgust sauntering up to the couch where he sat.

When she caught his questioning (cautious) gaze, she rolled her eyes half-heartedly and offered a short _"couldn't sleep"_ before sitting a bit closer than necessary and looking up at the screen.

And as the night drew on silently, a now wide awake Fear found himself genuinely happy about being stuck with Dream Duty. Just this once.

III

Being a hockey player meant a lot of things. It meant that Riley was athletic and adventurous. It meant that she had opportunities in her future not allotted to all. It meant that she learned determination and focus at an early age.

It also meant dealing with people who were just as determined as her. And _wrong_.

Anger liked it when Riley played hockey, but every time her voice was ignored because she was a player, she couldn't have seen what actually happened, she was a _child_ …

So the first time Riley and her emotions found the adults staring down at her, listening to her account of what happened out on the ice, treating her like a _grown up_ , like a _person_ —

Well, Anger found that he liked seeing their girl get the recognition she deserved.

III

If Disgust didn't abhor being freak-out-happy, she would have been whooping for joy when Mark asked Riley out _finally._

She had personally hand picked him, of course, but there was so much work in getting the two together. Since the puberty alarm had sounded, the control panel had seemed to shift and expand and she found herself working overtime to tap into all of the nuances that went into Riley getting her first crush. She let Joy take the wheel mostly, when they were with him, but behind the scenes Disgust would be there convincing Riley not to settle.

So, yeah, it felt good to see her hard work pay off. And sitting back, far from the panel as the two fourteen year olds laughed together, she grinned contently at a job well done.

 **A/n: Okay, so, yeah. I didn't mean for things to get shippy but the Fear/Disgust thing just sorta...happened. Sorry, not sorry, guys. 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disgust**

Who in their right minds thought _dried fruits_ were an appropriate substitute for dessert?

Seriously though. If it weren't for Joy, Anger would have blown their top already. Dried fruits were nasty, and it was cruel and mean to have lead the poor girl on with promises of dessert.

Disgust had since taken her leave, complaining that Grandma's cooking was supposed to be good and _I can't handle this, guys, you're on your own_ …

Joy, for her part, managed to convince him that they needed to act like they liked it. Anger wouldn't have cared, if it weren't for the fact that he cared for _Riley,_ and he didn't want her fighting with her family. So he let joy put a smile on Riley's face and eat the _dessert_ without verbal complaint.

If Grandma noticed the small scowl she wore throughout it all, she didn't say anything.

III

Sadness had never known what it was to be accepted. She was used to being left out. She had never known what it was to be in the center of the group. That was fine. She could understand that.

But she had never felt so _worthless_ , so disgusted with herself than when Joy left her alone in long-term memory.

It was at that moment that the thought that had been building for years surfaced, and Sadness caught glimpses of herself in the memory orbs as she passed by, and looked away.

She was _nothing_. A waste of space, an unneeded emotion. Well, that was all over now. She wouldn't be able to hurt Riley any more.

III

Joy often made it a sort of game to compete with Disgust. She was a solemn upholder of the five second rule, she didn't care much for washing fruits with soap, and she liked to think that getting a little sweaty or dirty built character.

There were times though, when she would hand over the reins gladly to anyone who would take them from her.

When Riley was _sick._

Of course, she would do her best to keep her happy and optimistic, and for the most part it wasn't a big deal to get a little cold. But the second Riley started sneezing, Joy was _outta there._ She would see it coming. Riley would start to sniff, rub her nose, run to grab a tissue and then after it all…

Oh, why did kids always have to _look?_

 _Boogers were so gross!_

Joy would find herself practically incapacitated by the _eew_ and Disgust would take over full force. _Let her,_ Joy would think. There is nothing happy about spewing green _goo_ from your _face!_

III

Fear was a coward. _Duh._ He could live with that. It kept him, Riley, _all of them,_ safe. He even kind of liked his job, for the most part. He was good at it.

He was a coward. But that gave him no right to take the cowards way out.

He had wanted to quit that day—he had _tried_ to quit. He was going to abandon this friends, and their girl, to whatever disaster awaited. And that was _not_ okay.

Maybe he could account for his more-panicked-than-usual state of mind that day, what with everything that had frayed his nerves beyond what he could handle, but looking back now, he couldn't even _begin_ to justify his actions. Or, lack thereof. However you decided to interpret that. He was going to abandon his friends, quit trying, go into hiding, _whatever_ he decided to do when he was _out._

That was not right, he knew. Oh, he was painfully aware. How could he, the one who was supposed to be the worrier, the protector, even _think_ of turning his back? _How could he?_

 **A/n: Well, a couple of these were a little more self-loathing-y than I thought they would be. Oops..? Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading, everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Anger**

Disgust was, truthfully, just fine being a bit of a background emotion. I mean, come on, it's not like she _wanted_ Riley to be stuck up and overly picky; she wanted their girl to be happy and outgoing, they all did. So, as long as she did her job and made sure Riley stayed well away from poison of all types, she was fine.

That was assuming that she even got the chance to do her job in the first place.

And yeah, _okay,_ she got Joy's need to be in control. She was _Joy_. They kind of needed that to happen. But when Joy tried to stop Disgust from doing her job, that was different. It was her turn, darn it, she was not about to let Riley do something she'd regret!

So she would push and shove, and maybe be a bit more forceful than she otherwise would have been. Joy would push back, of course, but with none of the fire that Disgust held. Disgust herself held no regret for it, and even felt a little self-righteous when she looked back and could find no accusation for her actions in the eyes of the others.

III

Fear would never lash out at Anger. Anyone who ever thought he might was nuts. But that didn't mean that he didn't get mad at the stout emotion.

They were too different to not rub edges. Anger was all about instinct, immediate reactions, and lashing out. Fear was always more for thinking things through and not acting on urges that might get them into trouble. Anger held no qualms about showing Fear and anyone else just what he thought of them, verbally or otherwise, and faced with him, Fear could do nothing but stand there, cowering.

But as soon as his door was closed, he would rant and rave to the little voices inside of _his_ head until he practically collapsed of exhaustion. Anger never failed to live up to his name around Fear. If only he could see how well Fear could match him at his own game.

III

Joy was capable of hate.

Not necessarily hatred of individuals, really, but she hated what they did sometimes.

Today was one of those days where things just slide down hill. It had started off well enough—Riley had had breakfast and laughed with her parents, had dressed extra cute, and had managed to not trip on that crack in the sidewalk that got her _every_ time. The school day had started off fine, too. Until the bullies came. Joy had yet to figure out why anyone could find it in them to hurt sweet Riley the way those mean girls did, but that was beside the point. They did, and Riley went the rest of the day with her head lowered, Sadness taking the wheel much of the time.

Riley was their girl. _Her_ girl, almost as much as she was her parents'. When Riley caught her own reflection and the emotions were granted a glimpse of her saddened eyes, Joy could not help but to hate.

III

Joy felt saddened by the loss of Bing Bong.

Sadness felt angry.

It wasn't fair. She had felt that she understood Bing Bong, and that he had understood her in return. He was the very first, too! Nobody had ever really bothered with her before. He made her feel useful. Wanted.

And then he was taken away. She was sad, _of course,_ how could she ever not be? But she was also angry, and she thought that maybe she understood Anger's desire for justice better because _how could fate be so cruel to take away what was maybe her first real friend?_

She didn't even have anyone to be angry at. Joy was not to blame, she knew that. She could't blame _Riley_ for forgetting, she didn't do anything. Bing Bong had given himself up for their girl, willingly and happily, if what Joy had told her was true. And that was so, so sad.

But maybe, this time, sadness wasn't enough.

 **A/n: So Sorry I missed a night, guys. Didn't mean to, but as soon as I finally got home last night I just sorta...collapsed. Anyways, one more to go!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fear**

Anger _hated_ to admit to being wrong on any given day. He was never one to back away from his opinions and he certainly wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of being right to hold over his head if he could help it. He was nothing if not fair, though, so when he did or said something that proved to be wrong or hurtful (more so than was accepted of him, anyway) he would always twist his pride enough to give a proper apology.

After the incident with Joy, Sadness, and the core memories, he unsurprisingly offered an apology to them all for his rash decision. Surprisingly, though, he kept on offering more.

At first it was fine, and the other emotions thought nothing more of it than a bit of an uncharacteristic episode for Anger. When it became obvious that he would continue to apologize whenever the subject was brought up, they tried to ease his mind. Joy and Sadness told him that it was just his way of thinking about things, that he was just as unbalances as Riley was without them there. Fear and Disgust even tried to take a bit of the blame for themselves. After all, they did nothing to stop him. But Anger persisted. The apology became a habit. Compulsive.

For the first few weeks after the incident, he was hesitant to touch the control panel at all, and would bat away any help from the others when they noticed. What if he made the wrong choice again? What if he hurt Riley? Even after the excitement died down, and he managed to stop saying sorry to the others, he would apologize to Riley every night before bed, quietly. And he would worry every morning as he got ready for the day that he could screw up that badly all over again.

III

Sadness had never actually been alone. Even when the others had sort of left her in the dust, so to speak, they were always _there_. And it may have been far from ideal, but she would take what she could get.

She was afraid to go to sleep at night. She wasn't scared of the dark, or of something under the bed, like Riley used to be. No, she was scared of the nightmares she was sure would come.

They only intensified after what happened, and Joy had finally become her good friend. She would dream of losing her, losing all of them. Sometimes they would fade from existence, or they would simply walk into another room and never be seen again. However it happened, she always find herself alone.

She sound of her crying in her dream would mesh with the sounds she made as she woke up, and she would move quickly but silently to the others' rooms to check on them. Just to make sure that they hadn't really left her all alone.

III

Joy trusted her coworkers with everything she was. They were practically a family, with how much they relied on each other. She knew that they would always have her back.

At least, thats what she told herself.

Don't get her wrong, it started off that way. For eleven years she had been content with the fact that everyone was behind her decisions. But after the fiasco in long-term memory, Joy felt less and less confident that she was doing right by the others. Every time she made a decision, every time she chose to drive, she found herself glancing over her shoulder at her friends who she _trusted, I should trust them!_ just to make sure they thought it was a good idea, too.

How much sway did she hold over them, really? They had always sort of smiled and nodded when she did something, but was that just because they thought that they did't have a choice? Now that she'd stopped degrading Sadness, would the other emotions shed whatever shell was around them and finally voice their _true_ opinion of her, without fear of retribution?

They were her _friends_. They _were._ But was that a decision that was hers, or theirs?

III

Disgust was afraid of fear. No, not _Fear_ , but, well…fear. She had heard Riley's dad tell her once that 'the only thing to fear is fear itself.' She took to this saying faster than even she thought she would. There were plenty of things on Earth for her to be less than fond of, but truthfully, she was too busy being grossed out by it all to really think of being afraid.

She was hard to scare, she supposed. Which was good, until she tried to think of how she would react if ever she was scared.

She wasn't afraid of fear because it was all that was left, because it was unknown. She was afraid of fear because she knows what it can do to people who are unprepared.

Countless times she had seen people—live, on TV, in the news; through Riley's eyes—who had been _incapacitated_ by fear, had completely _shut down_. She had seen people become irrational beyond the point of sanity, and had even seen people hurt others in their efforts to save themselves. It was like they became animals, vicious beings who gave no heed to the people around them. Would use them as stepping stools to get out of a pinch. These were people whose Fear didn't take their job seriously in the beginning; she knew, as she had asked Sadness, and Sadness seemed to know more than any of them did. The Fears of those unprepared were underdeveloped, without a plan, and desperate.

Riley had a good Fear. A great one. He kept her safe, and even if he was panicking himself he tried his best to keep her head level enough to get out of whatever trouble they found themselves in. She trusted _their_ Fear.

But in a panic, in a mass of people running from or responding to a threat of some kind, would they all be safe from the fear that engulfed everyone in its path? Would every _other_ Fear near them have enough sense and human decency to protect their Riley, too?

 **A/n: Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading and for your feedback and support! Fear was such an enjoyable chapter to write, and I hope you al liked reading it, and the others. That sums it up for this fic. Love to all!**

 **Because I failed to do it at the beginning: Disclaimer- I own nothing.**


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